Fury Should Be Saved For Genuine Outrages

GARY STEIN

There are, apparently, a few ways to get the general public outraged enough to go on an intense letter-writing and phone call campaign.

You can get them worked up by starting a letter-writing campaign against a congressional pay raise.

You can get them worked up by starting a letter-writing campaign to save a doomed television show, like Cagney and Lacey.

Or you can get them worked up by starting a letter-writing campaign to get Elvis` likeness on a postage stamp, which is one helluva trick when you think about it.

The pay raise issue, in part, was fueled by radio talk show hosts from all over the country, who encouraged their listeners to write and send in tea bags and threaten heavy-duty consequences if congressmen took the raise.

Yeah, when you talk about money, it`s a very easy issue.

Sure, our politicians were totally gutless and sleazy in the way they went about it -- trying to get a huge raise without having to vote for it. But many of them deserve the raise. If talentless rock stars can make millions, and .240-hitting shortstops can make $850,000, then a U.S. senator is worth $135,000.

I just wish people would get outraged at things that should really cause outrage.

IN CASE YOU WANT TO GET MAD

You want things to get worked up about?

-- Get outraged at a couple of right-to-lifers in New York, who are even more arrogant and fanatical than your usual anti-abortionists.

Maybe you`ve read about the Long Island man, Martin Klein, whose wife is comatose after an auto accident. She is 17 weeks pregnant, and an abortion might help her slim chance at recovery.

The husband is begging an appeals court to allow the abortion. Two male right-to-lifers tried to block it by trying to become the woman`s guardian -- the husband got guardian status this week -- and thus prevent the abortion. And New York courts, unbelievably, are still allowing the right-to-lifers to appeal.

The anti-abortionists are ``ripping my guts out,`` Martin Klein said.

And what I would like to see happen to those two fanatical anti-abortionists can`t be printed in a family newspaper.

-- Get outraged at politicians in places like Coral Springs and Pembroke Pines -- two cities that produce criminals, but don`t want to have anything to do with having a jail in their midst.

I really love the honchos in Pembroke Pines, who are anxiously trying to stop the idea of the Sportatorium being used as a jail to help with our overcrowding crisis.

For years, the Sportatorium attracted heavy-metal bands and some druggies in the crowds and caused severe traffic jams. Now, politicians say the same arena is not OK to house inmates in a jail.

-- Get worked up at politicians in Hallandale, who are still wasting time battling with caustic but highly entertaining radio talk show host Neil Rogers (the commission approved drafting a resolution urging the denial of a license renewal for WIOD, which airs Rogers` show).

Do you people in Hallandale pay your city commissioners to get involved in censoring a talk show host? And what talk show host might be censored next?

DEMAND HELP FOR MENTALLY ILL

-- Get worked up and send letters to your state representatives, demanding increased financing for mental health needs and much-needed improvements at places like South Florida State Hospital. If you don`t think politicians are responsive to letters, just look at the pay raise issue.

-- Get worked up over local physicians -- fearful of competition for the almighty buck -- refusing to allow Cleveland Clinic surgical assistants to work at Broward General Medical Center.

There obviously are many more things people should get worked up about, like getting more financing for AIDS research, but you get the idea.

Maybe we can really get all the apathetic people worked up if we tell them Elvis is asking for a pay raise.